Supreme Court judgment in Arunthathiyars Reservation Act case a recognition of Dravidian model, says Stalin

M.K. Stalin
| Photo Credit: S. Siva Saravanan

The judgement of the seven-judge Bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, in a 6:1 ratio, upholding the validity of Tamil Nadu Arunthathiyars Reservation Act, 2009, is yet another recognition for the Dravidian model government, said Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Friday, according to a press release.

The Tamil Nadu government decided to implement the 3% internal reservation for Arunthathiyars within the Scheduled Caste quota of 18% in 2008, following the recommendations of the committee headed by former judge of the Madras High Court Justice M.S. Janarthanam, considering the Arunthathiyars’ social, educational, and economic backwardness among Scheduled Castes. Mr. Stalin, the then Minister for Local Administration, introduced a Bill to provide internal reservation for Arunthathiyars, which was passed by the Assembly, the press release said.

Following the Act’s implementation, the number of students from the Arunthathiyar community getting admitted to engineering, arts and science, and medical colleges had increased. However, the Tamil Nadu Arunthathiyars Reservation Act, 2009, was challenged in the Supreme Court. In 2020, the Supreme Court upheld its validity.

A Constitution Bench of five judges referred the case to a Constitution Bench of seven judges in August 2020, the press release said.

The judgment is yet another victory and recognition of the social justice principles of the Dravidian model government, which implemented the Tamil Nadu Arunthathiyars Reservation Act, 2009, after a thorough analysis of the committee recommendations, the press release said.